Fake pollsters shake trust ahead of U.S. midterms

A self-described U.S. polling firm admitted that its surveys were fabricated, marking the second such scandal ahead of the midterm elections. The head of the Federal Communications Commission said there has been a significant surge in entirely fake polls and suppression polls designed to interfere with the electoral process.

Wedgewood Polls said its work was an experimental project meant to showcase vulnerabilities in the polling industry. The firm claimed it was far too easy for a fabricated polling firm to gain traction and be taken seriously, highlighting what it called a systemic breakdown in media vetting and data aggregation.

“It's very troubling that we've had two examples of this within a very short period of time during elect”

Wedgewood's polls were used by multiple national outlets, including the New York Times, Newsweek, MS NOW, and POLITICO. The Times cited around 15 Wedgewood polls between June and October and has since removed the data from its stories, publishing an editor's note that detailed its checking process.

In August, a separate operation called Median Strategies fabricated polls for races in Wisconsin, Nevada, and California. The company described the ploy as a social experiment in a statement to the Los Angeles Times.

Some candidates say their campaigns were directly harmed by the fake numbers. TIME's email to Wedgewood Polls bounced back, and Wedgewood's statement has since been deleted.